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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Richard and Carol: A Lifetime of Style Together

Carol and Richard are one of my favorite couples. They are both fantastic artists who bring style into every part of their lives. Check out the short interview below for more insight into how style and art impacts their life together.

1.You say you are extravagantly exuberant in your lifestyle, but minimal in your living space. Can you expand and explain?

We like our environment to be neat and organized. We are selective in what we put in our live/work space which is a one-bedroom apartment. In Philadelphia we had over 4,000 square feet. When we moved to New York, we had our architect create a loft-like esthetic on a small scale. Our walls are white and bare, but we have favorite objects and our books on shelves. Art materials are put away at the end of each day and stored in boxes. This lack of clutter lets us focus on our art.

In our lifestyle we are exuberant because we have fun and laugh together. We go out to lunch and dinner, go to museums and keep in touch with indy happenings like theater and puppet shows. We always dress for these occasions. We love to travel. I have been studying French, so we go to France each year. Many of our dear friends were Richard’s students at Tyler School of Art, and we see them as often as we can. We take advantage of the unique offerings of New York City.

2.Did you and Richard always dress up?

We have always dressed up, but perhaps not as consciously as we do now. In the 60s and 70s we lived in Philadelphia, and the great department store, Wanamaker’s, had a wonderful men’s shop. When we shopped there, the charming salesman would greet us with “How are you folks today?” Richard bought a fantastic pair of Bill Blass cotton pants in multi-colored stripes -- very magical mystery tour. I have always loved fashion touches. Influenced by Diana Vreeland’s shoots for Vogue, I once made a maxi dress from strips of ribbon and wore it to a gallery opening at Tyler. A guard asked me if I was dressed up for Halloween!

Richard in his Blass pants, Orient, NY. Carol in pink shorts from Nan Duskin. the fanciest store in Philly.

3. Have you influenced one another’s style?

We must be soul mates to have been together for 45 years, so it follows that we must have influenced each other’s style along the way.

4.How have your styles changed throughout the years?

You get more confident with who you are as you get older. That goes for clothes too.

5.Do you think a couple that styles together stays together?

It seems to have worked for us.

6.You are both artists, is this one reason that you dress up?

Dressing up is definitely a creative activity. You get to exercise all of the same impulses you use in your art such as love of color, drama, emotion, humor and beautiful materials. Styling is a form of making a collage on your body.

7. Do you shop together?

I always shop with Richard. We go to Paris and buy his shirts at Coton Doux. Lately, we’ve been going to Paul Stuart for trousers. Richard knows what he likes, and I act as a sounding board. Richard shops with me most of the time. He finds a chair and waits for me to try on things. If he doesn’t like something, he makes a funny face. Sometimes I dart into Zara, H & M or J. Crew (my secret vices) on my own.

They're so amazingly colorful and spirited. I envy their ability to maintain such a simplistic living space and how they incorporate their sense of art into their dressing. I hope my husband and I rub off on each other in such a positive way over the years.

Richard was my painting professor at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. Huge influence on my sense of color. I remember him saying with regard to one of my more awful first attempts at painting, "I'm going to cut you up and roll you in butter." Wise words. Cheers Richard!